FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW ME

My name is Sami Shaban, for those who know me in the community they know how I love working with Youth Projects. I am the guy in the middle, no not NBA great Mahmoud Abdul Rauf, the other guy with the kufi.  

One thing me and Mahmoud do have in common is our love for Basketball and service of others.   When I am not assisting in Youth Projects,  I work as a Corporate Attorney, one of my areas of expertise is nonprofit law.  I have also spent a big portion of my life consulting for financial institutions.  Why is this important, well its because I took my experience and merged them with my passion for humanitarian work.

And that is how I helped establish the IRUSA Waqf with my other fellow board members.  We created an establishment that will help support Islamic Relief USA by providing this Sadaqah Jariyah a charity that will keep on giving.  This charity of lasting benefit will support Islamic Relief an organization serving humanity for over a quarter of a century.  IRUSA has provided aid in over 75 countries since its beginning, and helping millions annually.

WHAT IS IRUSA WAQF?

If you’ve ever visited Istanbul, Turkey you’ve no doubt visited the Sulaymaniyah complex. A grand multifunctioning space consisting of a mosque, a medical school, a hospital, a public kitchen and more. It is one of the most incredible examples of a waqf in Islamic history.

A notable example of a waqf today is the Jerusalem Islamic waqf. Some of this waqf has managed hospitals and Islamic complexes in the old city of Jerusalem since the year 1187 and has been sustaining it through changing political climates. In this way the waqf can serve as a legal protection for organizations as well, ensuring it’s charitable efforts to continue in perpetuity.

Following in this remarkable tradition of the waqf, Islamic relief USA launched IRUSA Waqf. An endowment, aiming to protect the work we do for our communities and ensuring we can do it for years to come.

What is a Waqf? In simple terms, a waqf is an endowment created by a community for the benefit of the most vulnerable amongst community.

How does it work? You as a donor contribute an amount to IRUSA waqf. This can be in the form of cash, real estate, stocks and bonds, donor advised funds, or any means appropriate for you

A team of our talented financial experts invest your donation in shariah-compliant investment portfolios. The returns of your donation fund IRUSA charitable efforts while your original donation is maintained. In this way your original donation can support Islamic Relief programs in perpetuity as Sadaqah Jariyah.

But why should you donate? How does this benefit you as a donor? Through your donations you’re able to support Islamic Relief projects around the world, you can earn tax benefits, you can earn an investment back through the trust, and you are leaving a legacy, a Sadaqah Jariyah.

The waqf is a new way of supporting IRUSA. In the past, most donations from individuals have taken the form of cash. Now, we are expanding to be able to accept additional forms of donations, and we’re using them to start an endowment that will maintain IRUSA.

Depending on the donor’s wishes, gifts to this endowment may benefit orphan care, emergency relief or development work. But the waqf’s main purpose is to maintain and grow IRUSA so we can focus on charity work at home and around the world.

The waqf is like a foundation upon which future charity work will be built.

A LONGSTANDING ISLAMIC TRADITION

The practice of forming a waqf to benefit charitable work is based in the Prophet Muhammad’s practice.

When Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) received property at Khaibar, he went to the Prophet (SAW) for advice on what to do with it. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) suggested that he could dedicate it as an endowment for charity. So he gave it in charity, with the condition that the land be maintained and its yield given to charity.



SADAQAH JARIYAH, THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

The Prophet (SAW) Said “When a person dies, his/her acts come to an end, but three: sadaqah jariyah (recurring or ongoing charity), useful/beneficial knowledge, or a pious child who prays for the deceased.” The rewards for these good actions continue even beyond the giver’s lifespan on Earth.

This Sadaqah Jariyah is a type of charity that is continuous and its benefits are reaped by both the donor and receiver, even after the person giving it has passed away. 

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We have all heard  that if you “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Well IRUSA WAQF is just that, we providing ways where your donation will be long lasting.

DONATE TODAY

Please support the IRUSA WAQF, you are helping to build Islamic Relief USA itself. You’re building an even more stable foundation for ongoing charity work.  And you are helping your legacy in this world and the hereafter. 

IRUSA Waqf, reviving tradition, building legacy.